Automatic shutoff valve



'rTl l 1 "J F Tf? 1%@ 11.5. CANELER Zgfw@ AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF VALVE Filed Sept. l, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l mmm 7 E95@ A. v. B. CANDLER AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed sept. l, 1944 mlm WM W G Patented Feb. 7, 1.950

UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICEk AUTOMATIC SIIUYIOFF' VALVE. Arthur. V. B.. Candler, Tulsa, Okla.

Application September 1, 13.9.44, Serial No. 552,311

1 Claim.

My invention relates to automatic shuti-oi valves for pipe lines or' the like.

In the majority or fields where oil is being produced, the oil storage tanks are at a considerable distance from the pumpingA station. The pipe-line system connecting the storage tank, or tanks with the pump suctiony manifold mayY involve not only one line of considerable leng-th but an extension of lines comprising a pipe-line gathering system` of numerous branches. The entrance of air or. gaseous fluids, such asl oil vapors, into the suction line between the storage tank and pumping station, presents a dificulty to pumping, operation, suchas vapor locking of the pumping unit., or other adverse condi.- tions, such as the tendency of accumulation. of paraffin deposits in the. gathering` lines.

Anl importantobject ofvv theinvention. is to. provide a valve of the above mentioned. character which will eiect exclusion of. air and. gaseous fluids, such, as. oil vapors, from pipe lines. conveying oil, thereby eliminating the, necessity of bleeding lines or other procedure as may be applied When vapor locks.v Occur.

A further object, of the invention isr to provide the float valve with a vent opening whereby any accumulated, liquid within the float, valvek will. be removed by the suction action of the pumping unit, when it is operated to drainthe,` tank.

A further object of the inventionis to. so shape vand weight the float valve,l that. auxiliary guide,

means may be dispensed; with.

A further'objec-t of; the: invention, is to provide a.

simple and reliable trip4 rod for' unseating the f Figure 4 isa similar-view taken at 90 to Fig? ure 3.

In the drawings; wherein for the purpose of illustrationl is showna preferred embodiment" of my invention, thenumeral 5` designates thevallve casing. having an upper screw-threaded opening 6 tov receive the lower screw threaded end of a vertical cylindrical` pipeor float chamber 1. At its` lower end the; casing 5 has a screw threaded opening 8.; for engagement with the screw threadedl lower portion of a cylindrical cage. 9, having a head l0. Packing li is arrangedv between the head1 IJU andcasing 5 and packing. I2 is also arranged at the top ofthe cylindrical gage 9. The cylindrical gage has an upper inlet opening i3 and a lower outlet opening i4, anda. horizontal webJ |5-` isv arranged between these openings. and is provided with an opening I6, the Wall of'whi'ch constitutes a valve seat. The casingl 5 has screw threadedr openings il and i8, for receiving por'- ti'onsof a header or pipe line i9. In Figure 3 one endy of the pipe line i9 leads to a vertical' storage tank 25 while the opposite end may lead to the suction side of a pump at the pumping station.

At itsv top, the vertical pipe or iioat chamber 1 hasA a capv or head 2lapplied thereto, preferably having screw threaded engagement therewith. An elbow 22 is screw threaded into an opening 23' arranged centrally within the cap 2l and this elbow is connected with a vent pipe 24". Ar-

' ranged` within the upper end of the pipe or float chamber 1 is a bleeder valve 25, including a L upper tapered valve seat 28.

tubular casing 2.6, having screw threaded engagement with the lower end of the elbow 23. This tubular casing has, the intermediate portion of its bore contracted at 21, providing tapered Valve seats. 28 and 29, as shown. Arranged within the tubular. casing 26. above the contracted portion 2.7 isa. check ball- Valve 30, to engage with the A tapered valve element 3l operates Within the lower portion of the;4 tubular casing 2. to engage with the tapered valve seat 2,9 and the valve element 3l is car- Xzied by a rod 32, slidable within a head or gland 3 3', having screw threaded. engagement with the lower end of thetubular casing 21. The tubular casingv 2T has openings 34 arranged near and above the headv or gland 33, as shown. The rod 3,2 hasl a. float 34- xedly secured theretov and the rod extends below this float and carries a com,-

pressible coil spring 35', to absorb shocks from theV iioat valve.

The numeral 35v designates a hollow oat valve, which is preferablyformed of plastic material such as Bakelite. ThisA float valve is circular in. horizontal cross section and is vertically elongated so that it is substantially spheroid orl ellipticall. The hollow float valve 35 has its lower end weighted and this is accomplished by forming the bottomk portion 3B thickened. This thickened portion is provided with a central aperture 31. The head l has a vertical sleeve 38 rigidly secured thereto, centrally thereof. This vertical sleeve receives a reciprocatory trip rod 39 having a knob 40 at its lower end and a stop or cotter pin 4I near its upper end. The trip rod 3B has upper and lower annular grooves 42 and 43 to receive a latch ball 44. This latch ball is guided in a tube 45 attached to the sleeve 38 and is moved inwardly by a spring 46.

The operation of the shut-olf valve is as follows:

tom and is therefore hollow and air filled. The/:L1-

float valve floats at its predetermined submergence level in the uid without impedance due to the degree `of vacuum or vapor .pressure 1n y,

the pipe or iloat chamber 1. Insurance of closing is thereby provided when the uid in the .pipe or iloat chamber 6 reaches a predetermined 110W level. The vertical elongated shape of the hollow iloat valve and its wedged bottom I6 cause the float valve to be .properly guided within the pipe or iloat chamber 1, thereby eliminating the use of auxiliary guide rods and associated elements. The float valve is slightly smaller in extern-al diameter to the internal diameter of the pipe or float chamber 1 and is therefore guided by the pipe or float chamber `but the oil may pass in the pipe 1 exterior of the iloat valve. The pipe or float chamber is of a height to provide a static head to hold the float valve in the closed position, when the pipe or iloat chamber is iilled with Ioil or the like. The pipe or float chamber is installed near the tank or tanks. When there is no flow of oil in the line or header, the static head holds the iioat valve 35 rmly upon its seat I6, the pipe or float chamber being now illled with the oil if the level in the tank is suillcient thereby providing the static head. When the level of the oil rises in the .pipe or float chamber 1, the float 34 rises and valve element 3| engages the lower valve seat 29 and this will prevent the escape of the oil from the bleeder valve.

When starting to run or withdraw the oil from the tank, the pump being set into action, the float valve is held upon its seat I6 by the static column and a vacuum is created in the pipe line I and the casing 5 'beneath the float valve 35 and this vacuum also serves to more firmly hold the iioat valve upon its seat.

In order to start withdrawing the oil from the tank 20, the trip rod 39 is raised until the lower 4groove 43 receives the latch ball 44. This upward movement of the trip rod unseats the oat valve and moves it upwardly in the liquid column within the pipe or oat chamber and this float valve will then rise within the liquid column and strike and move the spring 35 and shift rod 32, closing the valve element 3l and preventing the oil from passing through the bleeder valve. The float valve 35 is now at the top of the liquid column in the pipe or float chamber 1. When the withldrawal or run of the oil from the tank l0 is started, the trip rod 39 is moved ldownwardly toa -lowered position so that its yupper groove 42 re-; ceives the latch ball 44. As the oil is withdrawn from the tank it .passes through the openings i3 and I4 and the level of the oil within the tank 20 gradually lowers and the level of the oil in the pipe or float chamber 1 gradually lowers accordingly. The iioat valve 35 is now descending and approaching its seat I6. When the level of the fluid or oil in the tank 20 reaches the top engage the seat I3. The iloat valve is so weighted that it is completely seated when the iluid level is at the top of the pipe I9 or just below such top, as shown in Figure 3. When this condition exists, the float valve 35 is firmly seated, cutting off communication between the tank and the pipe I 9 upon the disch-arge side of the casing 5, and the section of the gathering lines between the shut-011 l valve and pumping unit is :bled free of air or ex- "cess uids through meansof the pump vacuum.

"When this action occurs the vacuum in the casing 5 beneath the hollow float valve 35 is trans- 'rhe neat valve as has the opening a1 at as bot- *i "mated to the interior of this noat valve through the opening 31 and any oil or liquid contained within the hollow oat valve 35 will be drained out of this hollow iloat valve. This is important.

As is well known, Bakelite" oat valves are made in two halves, sealed together at the equator, and

after a time in service, they become overweighted and rendered inoperative. I have found that this difrlculty may be overcome by draining the liquid from the interior of the hollow oat valve through .the opening 31, as explained. The pipe or float chamber 1 being emptied of the oil lor uid, and the valve element 3l being unseated, any air or Avapor which has laccumulated in the tank may escape through the pipe I9 into the .pipe or float lchamber 1 and pass to the atmosphere through openings 34, tubular casing 25 and pipe 24, providing that this air or vapor is under pressure at least slightly above atmospheric pressure to unseat the ball check valve 30. This ball check valve is weighted so as to open a tew ounces above atmospheric pressure.

In Figures l and 2, the header or pipe line I9 is connected with a plurality of tanks 20', and the pipe line I9 is arranged above ground. In Figure 2, the pipe line I9 is shown as arranged beneath the ground and is connected with the tanks 20', as shown.

It is to be understood that the form of my 1nvention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

An automatic shut-off valve for a pipe line extending between an oil tank and a suction pump, comprising a substantially vertical casing having an opening at its top and an opening at its bottom, the top and bottom openings being of smaller diameter than the interior of the casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings in its side, a vertical cage held within the bottom opening of the casing and including a lower head and a horizontal web arranged within the casing near the longitudinal center of the casing, said web having a valve seat which has a smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the cage, the upper end of the cage terminating adjacent to the top opening of the casing, said cage being provided with an inlet opening above the web and an outlet opening beneath the web, a combined guide and stuiling box secured to the head and depending vertically below the head, a substantially vertical cylindrical tloat chamber having its lower end held within the top opening of the casing, the float chamber having a uniform bore extend-` ing through its lower end and such lower end terminating close to the top end` of the cage, the diameter of the -bore of the float chamber being lof the pipe I9, the oat valve will move down and less than the internal diameter or the cage, a. hol-A low oat valve element to be arranged within the casing and having upper and lower tapered ends, the valve element being formed of stiff plastic material and having its bottom thickened and weighted, said bottom having a reduced drain opening, the float valve element being arranged above the horizontal web for movement upwardly into the oat chamber, said valve element having an exterior diameter only slightly less than the interior diameter of the float chamber, the inner wall of the float chamber being free from guide means and serving to directly accurately guide the float valve element when it rises into the same, the thickened weighted bottom of the float 6 upwardly to contact with the thickened weighted bottom of the oat valve element to unseat the Same.

ARTHUR V. B. CANDLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 674,004 Hess May 14, 1901 803,355 McMullen Oct. 31, 1905 975,153 ONeill Nov. 8, 1910 1,383,273 Klahn June 28, 1921 1,542,036 Conrader June 16, 1925 2,103,057 Blumer Dec. 21, 1937 2,210,751 Cronkhte Aug. 6, 1940 2,251,357 Harroun Aug. 5, 1941 2,252,164 Cantor Aug. 12, 1941 2,306,621 Giansetto Dec. 29, 1942 

